Fuse-igniter.



N0. 70|,203. Patented May 27, I902.

B. K. JENKINS & H. J. MCDONALD.

FUSE IGNITER.

(Application filed Nov. 13, 1901.) (No Model.)

w Q ZZZ vide a novel construction of igniter of this the ends of a bunch of fuses and which will .UNITED STATES PATENT eme a- CHARLES K.JELNKINS AND HUGH JOSEPH MCDONALD, or soU'rH Burri I .MONTANA. Y I 4 FUSE-IGNITER.

SPEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,203 date'd May 27, 1902. H v

Application filed 'November 13, 1901- :Serial No. 82,154: CHO model.)

United States, residing at South Butte, in the.

county of Silverbow' and State of Montana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fuse-Igniters, of which the following is a specification. i 4

Our invention relates to fuse-igniters, the object of the same being to provide a simple, safe, and reliable device of this kind whereby a plurality of safety-fuses leading to various blasting-holes containing explosive charges may be simultaneously fired.

' A further object of the invention is to prokind which may be readily connected with In the drawings forming part of this speci-' fication, Figure 1 is an elevation showing our lmproved igniter in operative'position. Fig. 2 1s a bottom plan view, and Fig. 3 is a vertical central section, of the same.

Like reference-numerals indicate like parts in the different views.

Our improved ignite'r consists of a shell 1, preferably cone-shaped, having a mass 2 of readily-fusible material therein, the same being retained in place within'the shelll by means of a disk 3 of Wire-netting or other open-work material. The shell 1 is provided with means for holding the disk 3 in position, the same consisting in the form of our invention herein shown of an annular groove 4 on the inside of the shell in which the edges of the disk 3' fit. Outside of the disk 3, but

within the shell 1, we may secure in any suit- 4 I erably being of oiled or paraffined paper.

able manner a sheet or disk 6 of combustible waterproof material for the purpose of pro-' tecting from dampness the mass 2 of fusible material Within the shell, the said diskfi pref- The said'disk 6 may be held in place within the shell 1 by pasting it around its edges to 'from water by said shell.

the parts carried thereby with the ends of the bunch of fuses 7, we secure to the lower end of said shell 1 attaching devices 8, the samebeing herein shown in the form of twisted wire.

throughout a portion of its, length, leaving The said wire is passed through openings 9 in the shell 1 and afterward twisted the ends of the strand of wire free, asshown at 10. When it is desired to connect the igniter with the fuses 7, the twisted portion of the wire 8. is placed in contact with and par-- allel to the ends of the fuses 7, and the two free; ends 10 of said wire'are wound around said fuses and also around the twisted portion of said wire. Said free ends 10 are connected to each other by twisting or otherwise and the shell 1 of the igniter is firinly connected with said fuses. The igniter is so disposed on the fuses that the ends of the latter project within or lie adjacent to the lower end of the shell 1 beneath the disks 3and 6, so that the ends of said fuses are completely protected Any water that may be falling will be shed from the shell 1 and directed away from the fuses 7 by reason of the inclined surfaces of saidshell.

The shell l'may be constructed of tin or other sheet metal, paper, or' other material which may be found suitable for the purpose,

and for the groove 4, which retains the disk 3 of open-work materialin place, any other suitable securing means may be substituted.

Other means than the wire 8 may also .be pro* vided for connecting the shell-1 to the ends of the bunch of fuses 7.

In using our device it ismerely necessary to connect up the shell 1 with the fuses 7 in the manner just described and to fire the mass 2 of explosive material within the 1g niter. .When thus fired, the same acts to ignite the-ends of the fuses 7, the disk 6 of waterproof material being consumed and the disk 3 of open-work material serving to distribute the heat or flame equally to all of the fuses 7. It is therefore seen that reliable means are provided for preventing the fuses 7 from becoming wet and for making certain v the ignition of all of the fuses 7.

It will be understood, of course, that while it is desirableto ignite all bf the fuses 7 simultaneously it is not desirable that all of the explosive charges in the blasting-holes with which said fuses connect be exploded at the taken place, and thereby know when it is safe to return to work. We realize that it is not new to make the fuses of diiferent lengths; but when these fuses are ignited separately by a single workman it frequently happens that after two or three of the fuses have been ignited there will be trouble with the next fuse by reason of the fact that a'drop of water has fallen thereon or the igniting-candle has become extinguished, with the result that the workman will be delayed in the operation of igniting the different fuses. Duringthis delay those fuses which have been ignited are burning steadily and the workman either has to get out of the way before he can ignite theremaining fuses, or, as is very often thecase, through his anxiety to finish the work he stays a moment too longand his death results. Then, again, according to the old method of igniting the fuses separately the workman may fire a number of holes and in the rush to get away from danger lose count of the number of explosions that take place, or, as very often happens, two or three explosions will take place at the same time,

. and the workmen, not knowing this to be the case, wait for the number of reports they expect, and if they do not hear them they have to wait for what they consider a suffi'cient are kept idle for an hour or so.

time before returning to their work. v This means that sometimes fifteen or twenty men Again, in working in' wet places where water is falling if there are ,two or more holes to blast it re-- quires a man for each hole, and all kinds of maneuvers have to be resorted to in order to keep the water-from the ends of the fuses. All of the disadvantages of the old method above referred to are overcome by our invention, which provides not only for the simultaneous ignition of the ends of all of the fuses in the bunch, but provides for the protection-against rain of said fuses.

Havingnow described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A fuse-igniter comprising a shell containing fusible material and attaching means on said shell for connecting said shell to the ends of a bunch of fuses, whereby the same are protected and caused to be simultaneously ignited.

2. A fuse-igniter comprising a shell containing fusible material, and a wire secured to said shell for connecting the same to a bunch of fuses, whereby the same are protected and caused to be simultaneously ignited.

3. Afuse-igniter, comprising a shell having its upper end closed and containing a mass of fusible substance, a-disk of open-Work material for retaining said fusible substance in place, and means for connectingsaid 'shell to the ends of a bunch of fuses, whereby the same are protected and caused to be simultaneously ignited.

4. A fuse-igniter, comprising a shell having its upper ends closed, vprovided with an annular groove on its inner surface and containing a mass of fusible substance, a disk of openwork material fitting within said groove for retaining said fusible substance in place, and attaching means for connecting said shell to the ends of a bunch of fuses, whereby the same are protected and caused to be simultaneously ignited.

r 5. A fuse-igniter comprising a cone-shaped shell containing a fusible substance and having a groove on its inner surface, a disk of open-work material held in place by said groove, and a wire secured to said shell below saiddisk for connecting said shell to the ends of a bunch of fuses, whereby the same are protected and caused to be simultaneously ignited.

6. A f use-igniter comprising a cone-shaped shell containing a fusible substance and having a groove on its inner surface, a disk of open-work material held in place by said groove, a disk of combustible waterproof material in said shell beneath said fusible substance, and a wire secured to said shell for connecting the same to the ends of a bunch of fuses, whereby the same are protected and caused to be simultaneously ignited.

- In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES K. JENKINS. HUGH JOSEPH MCDONALD. Witnesses:

A. J. HOUGHTON, A. J. VIOLETTE'. 

